Ikhsan Reliubun, Jakarta – The Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries said the Directorate General of Law Enforcement at the Ministry of Environment and Forestry and the provincial government must stop the allegedly polluting shrimp farming in Karimunjawa Islands.
"The (shrimp farming) must be controlled," said the Special Staff and Spokesperson of Minister of Marine Affairs and Fisheries, Wahyu Muryadi, in Bogor, West Java, on Thursday, September 26, 2024.
Authorities previously named four suspects on account of environmental destruction in the Karimunjawa National Park, which halted shrimp farming in Kemujan Village, Karimunjawa District, Jepara Regency. However, the Village Chief at the time, Masud Dwi Wijayanto, said shrimp farms were still active in ten locations.
The shrimp farms operated until the shrimps were ready to harvest, Masud said on March 25. Masud explained that the ten active shrimp farms are located in Kemujan Village. Similar farms also existed in other villages in the Karimunjawa district, however.
The Coordinator of Lingkar Juang Karimunjawa, Bambang Zakaria, said in March that the active shrimp farms were located in Legon Lele, Jatikerep, Nyamplungan, Alang-alang, and Kemujan villages.
Meanwhile, Wahyu, the ministry official, said he hasn't been informed about the active shrimp farms in Karimunjawa District. "I only know about this recently," he said. According to Wahyu, the local Ministry of Environment and Forestry's law enforcement and the provincial province must monitor the shrimp farming activities.
"The control must be conducted first by the Ministry of Environment, then the provincial government, then by the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries. This is the constituent of the Ministry of Environment," Wahyu said.
So far, he said, his ministry has not communicated with local ministry law enforcement or the provincial government about the shrimp farming in Karimunjawa. "We are awaiting news from the provincial government and Ministry of Environment," he said.
Wahyu admitted to having known about the shrimp farming in Karimunjawa, however. At the time, he said, the Minister of Marine Affairs and Fisheries, Sakti Wahyu Trenggono, was furious about the environmental damage caused by the shrimp farms, as it compromised the water quality around the area.
Source: https://en.tempo.co/read/1921394/indonesian-govt-urged-to-cease-active-shrimp-farming-in-karimunjaw